How strength manages health risks

The new research didn't explore why strength training is so effective in lowering risk of early death and certain diseases. But this type of exercise is important for reducing body fat and building lean muscle, which can help with balance, posture and regulating cholesterol levels, said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, the medical director of Atria New York City and clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine. Goldberg wasn't involved in the study. "We know that individuals with obesity are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance and some cancers, so improving that (health) profile is beneficial, " Goldberg said. Additionally, "people who participate in regular activity. . . may also have a healthier outlook and have other healthy lifestyles. " Why exercise is also good for your sexual health The stronger benefit from mixing aerobics with strengthening exercises could be because the two "appear to work together and help each other move toward better outcomes, " Roberts said. "A balanced program of strength and aerobic activity is probably best and probably more closely mimics the activities of our ancestors, which helped determine our current gene sets. " Aerobic exercises include walking, dancing, running or jogging, cycling, and swimming, Goldberg said. Weight-training exercises you can do for 30 to 60 minutes include deadlifts, overheard dumbbell presses and dumbbell lateral raises, which involves using your back and shoulder muscles to lift light dumbbells so that your arms and body form a T shape. Most participants didn't benefit from doing the strengthening exercises for longer than one hour, but the research didn't examine why that was the case. However, results of previous studies have varied, Roberts said: Some have shown improved health at higher activity levels. "This is pool data, meaning it's several studies put together. So when you do one study with a lot of people, you could measure for other variables that could potentially cause (the worse outcome beyond 60 minutes), " Goldberg said. "We can't explain it based on this study. More studies will need to be done. " The finding concerning lower diabetes risk could be explained by muscle-strengthening activities increasing or preserving skeletal muscle mass, which has a major role in regulating blood sugar levels, the authors said. Overall, the main takeaway is to get active and stay active with an exercise program you like and can stick with, Roberts and Goldberg said